"The Begining" - A Furry Story

This isn't my story I am just running behind schedule a bit so I thought I would tide all of you over with part 1 of a story one of my writer friends has started. Hopefully I will post mine soon.

My kind do not have much need for sleep, and it is never a deep slumber. A part of our minds is always awake, always listening. This is how I am able to hear the footsteps heading towards my quarters late one night. I am about to dismiss it and go back to sleep, until I listen more closely. I have heard these footsteps before. Knowing where those footsteps will end, I open my eyes and wait, facing away from the door.  Sure enough, I soon hear a knock. "Come in", I chime. I hear the doors open, and the footsteps enter the room, stopping in the middle of the floor.
"Hello SilverStreak", I say.
"How did you know it was me?" shi asks.
"Your footsteps", I reply. "You still have that limp from skydiving last month."
I get down from my perch on the ceiling and take my first look at my visitor, a young chakat with an almost metallic-silver coat, except for occasional white streaks, hence the name. After looking and listening to hir for a while longer, I remark, "Your heartbeat seems to be remarkably high for someone who walked here."
"What have you been doing?"
"You obviously haven't heard the news then", shi replies.
"What news?"
"Darkern came back from his 6-week leave this afternoon."
"I didn't know", I say. "I was out on patrol."
"Anyway, I had finished my work assignments for the day", shi continues, "So we decided to go back to our quarters and celebrate".
I'll bet, I think. When a chakat and hir lifemate have been apart for that long, you can expect the celebration to be long and enjoyable, if you catch my drift.
"If that's the case", I ask, "then why are you here instead of celebrating with Darkern?"
"I needed to talk to you first".
"Ok then, sit down".

Shi walks over to my bed and lies down on it, while I pull up a chair beside hir so we're still at eye level.
"So what did you want to talk about?" I ask.
Shi takes a breath and frowns deeply, as if coming to a decision, then gives a short nod.
"Did you see the broadcast this afternoon?"
I lean back against my chair. Humans First has made one its anti-morph propaganda broadcasts. I could see where this was going.
"I saw some of it", I reply.
SilverStreak suddenly bends over as if in pain, sobbing uncontrollably and shaking like a leaf. Chakats are very emotional creatures, but are also incredibly happy and optimistic, especially SilverStreak. The broadcast must have cut hir deeply for hir react like this, but why? I place a hand on hir shoulder to try and comfort hir, but this only causes hir to cry louder.
"What's wrong Silver, what's happened", I ask, with my hand still of hir shoulder. I am starting to get to get worried. This is not normal chakat behaviour.
"I'll get a medic for you", I say, rushing towards the com.
"No!" shi cries, the first words shi's said. "No, no medics. It's all right."
Indeed, shi does seem to be regaining control, but shi is still shaking uncontrollably.
"What's happened?" I ask again, sitting next to hir on the bed and putting my arm around hir. "Do you want to talk about it?"
My touch seems to calm hir down, as shi snuggles up to my side and leans hir head on my shoulder. We stay like that for a little while me stroking hir hair, until shi says, "I shouldn't have reacted like that."
"It's all right", I whisper. "It's all right."

"It was the broadcast that made me so anxious", shi replies.
"I could see that", I say, "but 'anxious' doesn't really cover it. What was it about the broadcast that made you react like that?"
"I'm not sure", is hir answer. "It's not like I haven't heard their propaganda before. But when I heard what those... humans were saying, that chakats are nothing more than genetically engineered freaks, just hormone crazed lunatics following our inherited programming, I just lost it".
"But you've heard this all before, and it's never really affected", I offer. "What was it this time around that made you so upset?"
There were tears in hir eyes.
"I was thinking, what if we are just following our programming, what if we are just freaks of nature, what if we've been wasting our lives all this time..."
Shi breaks off, unable to continue, and begins to cry on my shoulder.
"Silver, you know that's not true", I say, desperately trying to pull hir out of the emotional well shi has pulled hirself into. But all shi does is shake hir head and whisper, "Yes it is, yes it is", over and over.
"Silver, I want you to listen to me", I repeat more forcefully.
Shi stops hir chanting for a moment and looks at me with tear-filled eyes.
 "Silver", I continue, "I've known chakats for a long time, and all I've discovered it that chakats are happy, intelligent creatures. You love life and your goal in life is to make others love life as much as you do. Anyone who doesn't believe that is either a fool or a liar. That's all there is to it."
"But how can you believe that? How can anyone believe that..." shi breaks off, threatening to return to the depths of hir emotions once again. Another approach to the situation is needed.
"How can I make you believe me?" I plead.
"I don't know", shi replies. "I don't know".
I lift hir chin so I am looking into hir eyes. "Silver, I love you".
I bring hir face closer to mine and kiss hir. I think for a second that shi might push me away, but instead shi puts hir arms around me and pulls me in closer, returning the kiss with hir own. It is not a passionate kiss as much as it is a sharing of friendships, a connection between brother and sister. We both have large lungs but eventually have to come up for air.

"Feeling better now?" I ask.
"Much better Shadow, thank you", shi smiles. " You don't know how much I wanted someone to say that".
"Why couldn't you talk to Darkern?" I say. "He could have handled it much better than I did".
"I just couldn't talk to him about this", shi replies. "It's hard to explain."
"I see". After looking at hir for a moment, I say, "There's something else, isn't there? I can see it in you eyes."
"Yes", shi answers, "there is something else".
I wait patiently for hir to continue. Shi takes another breath, making another decision. I hope it isn't as perilous as the last.
"The reason that I have reacted so badly to the broadcast is that..."
Shi closes hir eyes for a second then looks me straight in the eye. I can tell from the look in those blue eyes of hir's that this is something important.
"This afternoon, Darkern asked to be the sire of my cub".
"Silver, that's wonderful!" I stand up and give hir a deep hug. "I'm so happy for you. You had to have said yes".
"Well..." shi says.
"You didn't?" This is totally unexpected. "What's wrong, you don't think you are ready for a cub?"
"No! Never, I've always wanted a cub, I've dreamed about it all my life. It's not that".
"Then what is it?" I smile, "Don't tell me, you haven't gotten over your undying affection for me, is that it?"
"You!" is hir answer, giving me a bit of a punch on the shoulder. "You could never take anything seriously". Shi still has a delighted smile in hir face.
"Seriously then, what's the matter?"
"Well, when I was watching those... humans making that speech, I wondered, 'How can I bring a cub into the world knowing what shi will be facing?' How can I justify doing that?"
"Silver, it's not just that we have to worry about", I reply. "We can't let those bigots control our lives, that's exactly what they want. If they stop us doing what is natural, doing what is right, then they have won."

"Do you think shi will be safe?" shi asks, as I sit down next to hir once again.
"I know shi will", I reply, "because shi will have a kind and caring mother, a brave sire, and a wise godsire".
Shi sees the smile on my face. "Are you serious Shadow, would you really be hir godsire?"
"Of course I would Silver, our parents did the same thing to us, after all. I always thought it would be good if I were the god parent to your children, and you to mine".
"All right Shadow, you've convinced me", shi says. "As soon as I get back to my quarters, I'm going to tell Darkern that I want to have his cub. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great", I reply.
"Oh Shadow, you don't know how happy you've made me!" Despite my considerable size, shi is still able to pick me up and spin me around and around.
"From the way you're reacting, people would think I was siring your cub".
Shi gets the hint and puts me down. "You know, I don't have to tell Darkern right away". Shi gives me a seductive smile. "I could always spend the night here, if you want".
"It certainly wouldn't be the first time", I reply. This is true. "But I think you should give Darkern the good news".
"I guess I'll just have to settle for another kiss", shi says.
Shi brings my face to hir's and kisses me again. I wrap my wings around hir upper body and hold hir there for a while, after which shi releases me and heads for the door.
"Thank you, brother StarShadow", shi says, before opening the door and closing it behind hir.
"You're welcome, sister SilverStreak", I think.
I stand there staring at the door for a while, before going back to sleep on my perch. I was happy for SilverStreak, after all the trials shi has been through, shi's finally found hir place. I drift off into unconsciousness with a huge smile on my face.